


I Care About You

by fritokays



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: But whatever, F/F, Fluff, and i'm ashamed, it's just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 14:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7578409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fritokays/pseuds/fritokays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My first try at Holtzbert. It's fluffy and cute and probably pointless but here it is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Care About You

“Let’s go!” Erin looked up from her book on magnetic fields and particles within them when the outburst caught her off guard and made her jump. She had been dressed comfortably in her MIT sweat shirt and had found someone’s black sofee shorts in the laundry and had “borrowed” them. They all did it, just used whatever was in the building and maybe found out whose it was later.

Holtzmann popped up from behind a large scrap of metal that she’d brought up earlier that morning at Abby’s outburst and resettled her goggles on her face as she dropped her tools and started for the door. Erin closed her book, grabbed her jump suit, and headed out behind the other busters ready for whatever ghost was to be thrown at them next.

0~0~0

“Are those my shorts?” Holtzmann asked her that night. Erin looked down at her body and shrugged.

“They’re definitely not mine,” She mumbled. They’d gotten their ghost earlier that day and the rest of the day had been pretty chill. Erin was on the second floor, the floor Holtz had claimed. She liked that one the best. She could read and knew that the blonde wasn’t going to bother her, especially if she was caught up on some project. Plus, if Erin caught sight of those dimples every once in a while, well she wasn’t going to complain about that.

“Oh,” She shrugged and turned back to her work bench. Erin watched her back for a few moments before curling farther into the small couch in the corner of the room and readjusting her book in her lap. She wondered why Holtz even kept the couch in the room. She had gotten rid of every other piece of furniture on the floor except for this one. She never used it. Erin was the only other person hardly ever on the floor actually.

Holtzmann looked up a few moments later and smirked softly towards the woman lost in her book once again. Yeah, she could spare a little room for that couch.

0~0~0

“Have you eaten?” The blonde looked up to see Erin stood over her and frowned. How had she not heard her come in and walk through the room?

“Define eaten. And define a time perimeter,” She mumbled as she looked back down at the current project she was working on. She heard Erin sigh before the woman stepped out of the room. She shrugged and didn’t think much of it.

Moments later, the woman was back and placing a plate of Thai food in her lap, “Eat, Holtz,” She said gently and the blonde looked up at her and saw the look on her face and didn’t think twice about dropping her wrench and picking up a fork.

“Thanks.”

0~0~0

They’d been called in on what was supposed to be a routine run. Their routine run had turned into three ghosts. One had already been taken care of and the other two were still up for grabs.

Abby and Patty were taking care of one while Erin and Holtz took care of the other. It was looking good, the proton packs had worked and they were reigning it in. That was until Erin went sailing backwards. Holtz kept herself from panicking and stabilized the ghost before turning and running in the direction Erin had been thrown.

“Erin!” She shouted as she rushed towards the unmoving figure of the woman who had so easily wormed her way into her heart. She knelt down and dropped her proton pack from her back as she leaned over the woman checking for a pulse or anything she could work with.

She was alive and the blonde sighed slightly in relief before she was shaking the woman gently trying to wake her up, “Come on, Erin. You gotta wake up, darling,” She mumbled while she ran a hand gently over her cheek as she brushed her hair out of her face, “Erin, please,” She pleaded with the unconscious woman as she pulled her into a sitting position so she was leaning against her body.

“You get him?” Was mumbled out as the woman coughed and Holtz sighed happily.

“Yes, are you okay?” She asked in concern and Erin waved her off as she sat forward before wincing and reaching back to touch the back of her head. Her hand came back covered in blood, “Erin, you’re not okay,” She said in alarm, “Come on,” She stood and swept Erin into her arms. The physicist momentarily wondered how she was so strong before the pain in her head distracted her, “We need to get you to a hospital, baby,” Was said distractedly as she took off towards Abby and Patty.

Baby. That echoed around in Erin’s head for a long time afterwards.

0~0~0

Erin had a mild concussion and was allowed to leave after a preliminary exam. Abby and Patty had headed to bed hours ago and Erin was on her second floor couch pouting about not being able to sleep. Holtz had offered to stay up with her and was dressed in her pajamas as she worked for once instead of her jumpsuit.

“Jill,” She whined out. She was the only one who could get away with that, “I need sleeeeeep,” She continued to whine and Jillian had to admit that the sound was endearing to her. Hell, everything about the other woman was endearing to her.

“You need to stay awake for at least ten more hours,” She said back instead of acknowledging the whine, “You’d better get up before you fall asleep,” She heard a huff and shifting behind her before Erin was lifting herself onto the table that she was working on and looking over the plans she was currently drawing, “Not exactly what I meant, E.”

“Entertain me,” She pouted out and reached for Jillian’s pen and put it down so she would look up at her instead, “Or I will go upstairs and go to sleep.”

“Fine,” The blonde rolled her eyes, “What do you want?”

Erin’s automatic thought was ‘you’ and she bit her tongue to keep her sleep deprived brain from letting it tumble from her mouth, “I don’t know,” She mumbled, “I think we have Jenga,” She suggested as a joke but Jillian nodded and left to retrieve the game. She came back a moment later and stacked it up properly before motioning for the woman to take her turn.

“You know,” Holtz said after about half an hour, “We should have expected this,” The game was still in full swing and had yet to even teeter let alone fall, “We are both physicists after all.”

“True,” Erin mumbled as she placed her block and smiled in triumph before meeting blue eyes, “You want to admit defeat, Jill?” She taunted.

“Not a chance, Gilbert,” She retorted and made her next move, “Your head okay?” She asked as she placed her block and looked up at the other woman.

“It’s fine,” She murmured as she concentrated on the tower between them, “You heard the doctor. Mild concussion, nothing to worry about. I probably didn’t even need to go to the hospital,” She said teasingly and cut her eyes playfully towards Jillian.

“I wasn’t about to take any chances, Erin,” She said earnestly, “Not about you anyway,” She whispered under her breath as she made her next move.

“What’s that mean?” Erin asked and Jillian looked up at her before sighing.

“Nothing,” She shook her head and motioned for Erin to take her turn.

“Jill, come on,” She prompted but the blonde didn’t answer her, “You sure you don’t want to tell me?”

“I’m good,” She said in return and Erin made her move and purposely knocked the tower over as she placed her block.

“Okay, now tell me,” She said as she leaned forward on her elbow and watched Holtz’s eyes shift away from her, “Jill, come on, please?”

“I care about you, Erin. Is that so wrong?” She tried to deflect the other woman as she reached for the blocks and started stacking them back up.

“I care about you too,” Erin mumbled. Then she smirked, “Baby,” She murmured and bit her lip when Jillian’s hand froze and she looked at her, “Uh huh. I heard that.”

“I, umm, I,” She fumbled for her words, “I don’t know what to say actually.”

“That’s a first,” Erin said teasingly, “Why don’t we start with what caused that little endearment to come out of your mouth?”

“I’d rather not,” She deflected and got up to tinker with some machine she had been working on earlier. Erin watched her move around before getting up and following her, “Gilbert, I’m working.”

“Holtzmann, you’re avoiding. You’re not working,” She pointed out as Jillian retightened the same bolt for the fourth time, “What’s going on?”

“I’ve never,” She started and then waved her hands around, “I’ve never felt like this before. I don’t know, Erin!”

The brunette looked at her wide eyed. The woman never shouted, especially not at her, “Well, why don’t you try to explain it. There’s no way we can know anything until we gather some data,” She suggested as she picked up a marker and cleared a portion of the dry erase board.

“Yeah. Okay. That makes sense. Science,” She mumbled as she hopped up on the table and swung her legs back and forth as she looked at Erin expectantly.

“Right,” She said as she turned towards the board and poised herself to write, “So what causes this feeling?”

“Well,” Holtzmann was quiet for a moment, “You do,” She finally mumbled and Erin was still for a moment before making the note and drawing a line to connect it to the next thought.

“Okay, and what does this feeling make you… Feel?” She furrowed her eyebrows at her own wording but Holtzmann was answering before she could change the wording.

“Giddy,” She started, “Antsy, excited, nervous, and shaky. Like I’ve just been electrocuted.. But in a good way?”

Erin bit her lip to keep her smile in check while she made the next note, “Okay,” She said softly, “And what response does this feeling elicit from you?”

“Umm,” Holtz fumbled for her words, “Well it makes my heart beat funny and my stomach do flips,” She mumbled, “And it makes me feel like I could run a marathon or create a working time machine. Like I’m on top of the world.”

Erin’s hand paused before she turned and looked at the blonde sitting on the table behind her while staring at her lap. She grinned before taking three steps forward and gently lifting Holtzmann’s face so she was looking at her, “You mean that?”

“Well, yeah,” She said, “This is scientific research. I don’t joke about that,” She mumbled and Erin giggled at her before closing the distance between them and kissing her softly. Jillian made a surprised sound before she was kissing her back and Erin felt hands wrap around her waist. They pulled apart moments later. Erin with a small grin on her face and Holtz with a confused look, “Did your data point you in that direction?”

“Jill,” Erin said playfully, “I believe that my data points to the fact that you have a crush on me,” She said laughingly and Holtzmann just smirked at her.

“Then you’re not doing your research properly,” She mumbled and Erin’s face fell before she was finishing her statement, “Because I’m crazy for you,” She whispered as she leaned forward again and captured Erin’s lips softly.

“You are?” She asked slightly breathless when they pulled apart and bit her lip when Holtzmann nodded to her, “I’m crazy for you too,” She mumbled as she pecked the blonde’s lips quickly.

“Alright, so do you want to play another game then?” She gestured to the game on the table and Erin pouted fiercely at her. Jillian’s eyes widened. No human should be allowed to be that adorable.

“I want to go to sleep,” She pouted out and Holtzmann laughed.

“Not a chance, Gilbert,” She laughed out and stood before skirting Erin and rounding the table they had been sat at earlier, “We’ve got this or scrabble.”

0~0~0

“That’s not a word, Jill,” Erin mumbled. She was propped up on her hand about half asleep some hours later. The blonde rolled her eyes but pulled her tiles back. She was hoping that Erin was sleepy enough not to notice and she would finally gain the upper hand in the game. While they were both geniuses, Erin’s vocabulary was astounding.

“Yeah, yeah,” She mumbled as she played a decent word and tallied the points. She looked up to see Erin’s eyes fluttering closed and reached out to touch her cheek, “Wake up, Gilbert,” The brunette cracked an eye open to glare at her before playing her next word, “Dammit, woman. How do you do that while half asleep?”

“Hmm,” Was her only reply as Erin drew her new tiles. They looked up when the door opened and saw Abby walk in.

“You’re still up?” Erin looked at her in confusion, “You could have slept about an hour ago,” She explained after looking at her watch and Erin turned an angry, albeit sleepy, look towards Holtzmann who had just played her word and looked at her sheepishly.

“I really wanted to win a game?” She shrugged and Erin shook her head before standing and sleepily stumbling towards the stairs. Holtz stood after she was gone and stepped towards her workbench.

“Not a chance, Holtzy. You’ve been up as long as she has. Get some sleep. Nothing nuclear until you’ve had at least eight hours,” Jillian pouted at her, “Nope, that hurt puppy thing won’t work on me. Sleep.”

She left and Holtz grudgingly made her way upstairs towards her room. She stopped in the doorway of Erin’s room and watched her for a moment, “Either come lay down or go to your own room and stop staring like a creep,” Was mumbled out from the woman who apparently wasn’t as asleep as Jillian had assumed.

She stood in shock before Erin sighed and opened her eyes, “I won’t offer again, J,” She mumbled as she held a hand out towards her. Jillian stepped into the room and shut the door before making her way towards the bed where Erin had scooted over to make room for her to lie down beside her.

Holtzmann paused before climbing onto the bed and laying down on her side. After a moment, Erin shifted towards her and Jillian found herself with an armful of the woman. She grinned after a moment and wrapped her arms around her waist to hold her gently.

“Now go to sleep, Jill,” She threatened. It didn’t hold much punch in her sleepy state but Holtzmann nodded.

“Yes, ma’am.”

0~0~0

Holtz woke a few hours later. She never did sleep for more than four or five hours at a time. Her mind worked too fast for her to sleep. She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with a sleeping Erin Gilbert and grinned before she could stop herself.

Erin’s face was peaceful. Her eyelashes fluttered softly in her sleep. Her nose twitched every so often and she seemed to mumble scientific equations every once in a while. She was beautiful.

She was content to lay there for the first time in her life. Never before had she been able to be still somewhere without something to do. But Erin was a sight that needed staring. And stare she did.

She was still staring an hour later when Erin stirred and brought a hand up to rub at her face. She’d been memorizing the patterns of her freckles, attempting to figure out a mathematic equation to explain the pattern at which they appeared on her face. But nothing was perfect enough to explain the sporadic occurrence of the absolute beauty in front of her.

“What time is it?” Erin mumbled out sleepily and Holtz’s eyes flitted to the clock on the wall over the woman’s shoulder.

“Two pm,” She whispered. She didn’t want to speak too loudly and startle the woman still lost in her sleep addled state.

“Jeez,” Erin grumbled as she turned her head and buried her face into her pillow. Her hair fell over her face and Jillian watched for a moment before reaching out and gently pushing her hair out of her face. 

Erin opened her eyes to glare at her and Holtz just grinned at her. The brunette rolled her eyes before shifting closer and throwing an arm over her waist, “How long have you been awake?” Holtz raised an eyebrow, “Please, you never sleep longer than a few hours. And you usually do it while sitting at a work bench. So there’s no way you’ve been asleep this whole time,” She said but it wasn’t accusatory.

“About an hour,” Erin nodded, “I like your face.”

Erin snorted out a laugh but couldn’t help the blush that crept up her cheeks either, “Umm. Thank you,” She said softly and Holtzmann smiled at her. 

“I like,” She brought her hand up and touched Erin’s cheek softly, “That this freckle is a different color than these here,” She touched the freckles above her eyebrow, “I like that your nose twitches in your sleep,” She mumbled as she tapped the end of Erin’s nose, “I like this tiny scar right below your lip,” She whispered as she grazed her thumb over the slightly lighter colored tissue there, “I like the way you get this little wrinkle,” She touched the skin between her eyebrows, “Right here when you’re thinking really hard. Did you know you say equations in your sleep?”

The blonde finally focused on Erin’s expression. The brunette was staring at her in wonder. Never before had anyone paid so much attention to her. No one had ever taken the time to see those few things. No one had ever looked at her in the loving way that Holtz was in that moment, “You okay, Gilbert?”

Erin nodded quickly, “I’m good. And no, I didn’t know that I talked in my sleep,” She added quickly, blushing slightly as she did so, “Sorry.”

“It didn’t bother me, Erin,” Jillian said softly. Her fingers were still softly tracing patterns across Erin’s cheek. The brunette was pretty sure she was becoming a blue print for whatever new project was in the blonde’s head and smiled softly, “Really. I liked it.”

“Well,” Erin said quietly, “Thank you,” She was still blushing softly and could really feel herself getting used to the feeling of Jillian’s fingers touching her face, “We should probably get up.”

“Probably,” Jillian echoed but didn’t remove her hand from where she was drawing Fibonacci’s sequence on Erin’s cheek, “Especially since you’re gonna want a shower to wash the dried blood out of your hair and I’m pretty sure I heard Patty messing with my newest project which may or may not be nuclear,” Erin laughed and nodded.

The brunette regrettably pulled back from the blonde and stood to stretch. Jillian got up and left the room. She was back before Erin had made it into the bathroom already dressed and looking perfect in Erin’s opinion, “Forget something?” She asked playfully and Holtz nodded before crossing the room and kissing Erin deeply. The brunette sighed into the kiss and melted against her.

They pulled apart a moment later and Holtz smirked at her, “That.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm open to any and all prompts!


End file.
